Candace Bushnell authored a popular sex column for The New York Observer that eventually became “Sex and the City”.
In an interview with On The Money, she weighs in on the state of the media industry, how the economics of marriage have changed and her own luck with dating apps.
Lydia: The media industry has changed a lot since the 90s. Could Carrie Bradshaw support herself with a column in this day and age?
Candace: A lot of these online, digital platforms are going out of business. Everything is changing — including the TV landscape. Insiders are saying network and cable will go away and that streaming isn’t working either. So who knows. There are still people who make a lot of money writing books. Hopefully there is always room to make money in a creative field. It might not be books or media but it might be something else. In terms of media, people always want to know what’s going on. As a species, we’re obsessed with knowing what is happening.
Lydia: How has New York changed since the pandemic?
Candace: The big difference is the cell phone and social media. And there are the dating apps. When they first came out, no one would go on them.
Lydia: There was a stigma.
Candace: There was definitely a stigma. I’m on a couple of apps, including Bumble and Hinge, but I still meet more people now in real life than I do on dating apps. I see a lot of people I already know on dating apps, including ex-boyfriends. It’s still possible to meet people by going out because New York and the Hamptons are very social.
Lydia: Do you like the direction “And Just Like That…” has taken?
Candace: I’m enjoying it. It’s about the characters and I like the new characters so I do enjoy watching it and I hope it lasts for six seasons.
Lydia: Do you feel it still mirrors your life?
Candace: No. It’s its own thing — it has its own logic.
Lydia: Your work has spawned a lot of spinoffs — Carrie Diaries, Lipstick Jungle, etc. Are there other spinoffs in the works?
Candace: Yes but there is a writers strike so we have to wait and see.
Lydia: What is your best advice for someone trying to make it in New York?
Candace: It’s about doing your own thing and continuing to do it.There’s a lot of rejection and it’s hard. It’s harder now because of social media — which means it’s easier to get depressed thanks to FOMO. There’s a lot of compare and despair. In the past it wasn’t so easy to compare yourself to other people.
Lydia: Has the quality of men changed since the original SATC in the 90s? Are people still as interested in marriage?
Candace: People are definitely still interested in relationships, but dating has changed due to technology and what one can get away with and how we’re able to live our lives. At one time it was difficult to be a solo person in the world. A hundred years ago you couldn’t go to the supermarket and buy a meal just for yourself. Thanks to technology, the future is going to be more single.
Lydia: The economics have certainly changed.
Candace: In the past, unless you came from a rich family women had to access the income stream through sex or taking care of children or their husband or other people. As women, we don’t have to do that anymore. That’s what SATC was really about — women in their 30s who had careers and could support themselves. When women have their own money and make their own money what does their sexuality look like?
Lydia: Given those changes, are women happier in relationships today?
Candace: The biggest complaints I have are heterosexual women trying to find long-term relationships. It doesn’t matter what age you are. If you’re heterosexual it’s weighted in favor of men. Men have the money. The person with the money has the choices. When women get out there and make as much money as men it will be very interesting.
Lydia: So if the wage gap closes, that will level the playing field?
Candace: Hopefully it’ll help. But who knows? Robots are coming. Sexbots are coming.
Lydia: What’s your latest project?
Candace: A one-woman show. It started Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth theater, and I’ve done it at the Carlyle twice. I’m now doing it at the Canoe Place Inn on August 17th and Greenroom 42 in mid-October. It’s called “Candace Bushnell: True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City.” It’s about how I created Sex and the City, how hard I worked to get there, why I invented Carrie Bradshaw, and what happened to me afterward. I love doing it and it’s had a great response. In the next year I’ll be touring it in Chicago, Palm Beach, California as well as South Africa, Canada and hopefully England.
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